GREENVILLE — It’s been more than five weeks since the Washington girls’ soccer team dropped a match. Since then, the defending eastern regional champions have coasted through conference play, defeating every opponent by a minimum of three goals. With the possibility of overconfidence looming, a prescheduled match against 4-A J.H. Rose (12-4-2, 8-2 Eastern Carolina) came just at the right time, providing the Pam Pack with a true test of character.

“I scheduled this to give us a tough game before the playoffs and it did the job,” head coach Ed Rodriguez said.

On a dampened pitch, Washington fell to the Rampants, 3-0, ending the team’s eight-game win streak dating back to late March.

Fresh off a 9-0 blowout of Beddingfield earlier in the week, it took just 60 seconds for Rose to rip the Pam Pack down from its high horse, as the Rampants midfield pushed up field and pressured the right side of the visitor’s defense. A cross from the far sideline found Summer Kenney in a crowded box and with her left foot, she hit it out of their air, perfectly timed, past goalkeeper Emily Alligood, who stood no chance at making the save.

For the next 15 minutes, the host completely controlled the tempo and time of possession, ripping three to four shots on net. Anchoring a young defense, Anna McLawhorn controlled the center of the field and broke up a series scoring opportunities. On one instance, with 24 minutes to go in the half, the senior central defender stopped a 2-on-1 breakaway, shuffling the ball up the sideline and saving what surely would have been a goal.

Washington’s first real chance on net came with nine minutes left in the half when sophomore Sydney Edwards picked the pocket of a Rampants’ midfielder, starting a break up field and finding Warner Little, who cut diagonally across the box and fired a shot, which just deflected off a defender. Caitlyn Scott, the team’s leading scorer on the season, had a shot a minute later, but was too far out to really challenge the keeper.

Following Scott’s strike, Rose quickly formed a counterattack across the center of the field. Kenney blasted a shot from the edge of the box, as Alligood came up with the save of the day, elevating and tipping it over the bar.

Despite a late push from Washington, Rose outshot the Pam Pack, 8-2, and held a 1-0 lead at the half.

“I would say the first 10 minutes, we didn’t match their intensity,” Rodriguez said. “We haven’t seen anyone play that intense since the beginning of the season, which killed us with opportunities. We didn’t get many until later in the half. Once we got some more pressure on them, the opportunities to score came. We just didn’t make the right play offensively, but that’s part of the (growing) process.”

Washington’s best opportunity came two minutes into the second half, when Scott floated a chip shot over the defense and goalie, but directed it wide right by about a foot.

On the ensuing possession, Kenney found Sara Young on a seam up field and Young one-timed a shot from the top of her foot that bend into the upper-90, giving Rose a two-goal advantage.

Two minutes later, Alligood muffled a 1-on-1 with the goalie by taking out a striker, saving the easy goal but forcing an unquestioned penalty kick. Mackenzie Alread took the kick and deposited the ball past the outstretched hand of Alligood to bring the score to 3-0.

Through the final half hour, both teams split possession and had opportunities, as Washington tried everything to gain an advantage, including moving Little back to the midfield and Edwards up to forward, but to no avail.

Alligood finished with 10 saves, while Washington notched just six shots on the afternoon.

“I’m’ really proud of the way we played. We played as a team and passed the ball well, covered well, it just can be hard to compete with a 4-A school three-times our size,” Little said, referring to the Rampants’ height.

With the loss, Washington drops to 12-5 (6-0 Eastern Plains). The Pam Pack will finish out the regular season with two home games against two sets of Panthers — North Pitt on Monday and North Johnston on Wednesday. A win against North Pitt locks up the second-consecutive Eastern Plains Conference championship for Washington.

“I’m not unhappy, of course I don’t want to lose, but definitely not unhappy with the way they played,” Rodriguez said. “I think we need to trust each other a little better. The better pass may not be the best chance to score, but it’ll free you up. Sometimes we’re not passing to the easier option.”

“North Pitt is in second place, only lost one game to us, so that right now is the focus. Win the game and we win the conference.”